


Not with a Flash, but with a Spark

by midnightphoenix13, myownway



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 03:30:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5032072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightphoenix13/pseuds/midnightphoenix13, https://archiveofourown.org/users/myownway/pseuds/myownway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the nogitsune, Stiles needs to get away, or at least that's what he's been told. So he starts a summer internship at the crime lab in Central City. What could possibly go wrong? Nowhere can be as crazy as Beacon Hills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This all started when I was looking for myownway on ffnet - search came up with the user Barry Allen's assistant, who's avatar was Dylan O'Brien in The Internship - birth of a plot bunny. Told myownway immediately and this was how we spent most of the weekend. Thank you Barry Allen's Assistant, whoever you are.
> 
> Disclaimer: We do not own The Flash or Teen Wolf, and make no profit from this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by midnightphoenix13.

Stiles stared at the piece of paper. He didn’t know how long he had looked at, but the words had started to blur together by the time he heard the front door open and close, and the unmistakeable sounds of footsteps getting closer.

“Dad, what’s this?” He didn’t look up, stayed where he had fallen into a seat after opening the envelope, but he knew the sheriff could see the letter from where he was stood in the doorway.

“Ah, it came then. How did you do?” John calmly moved around the table, and Stiles watched him start to make coffee for them both, finally putting the letter down and focusing intently on his father instead.

“Apparently I have successfully gained a place on a summer internship program with the Central City Police Department's crime lab.” Stiles fixed a steely gaze on his dad as he folded his hands on the table. “My recommendations were impressive and my security clearance has been finalised.” There was a slight shake of the mug as it was placed in front of him. “What is odd is that I don’t remember applying for any type of internship, anywhere, even when I…” He took a deep breath before continuing, “when I was possessed.” 

“Stiles.”

“No, Dad. Let me finish.” Stiles interrupted. “So I thought who else would do this, without consulting me. Strangely enough only one person came to mind.” He waved the papers slightly. “Why Dad?” John sighed.

“You need a break Stiles; a break from Beacon Hills and werewolves and all the crazy.” He reached across the table and squeezed Stiles’ hands in his. “You have been through so much and you still haven’t recovered. No Stiles, I know, okay.” John kept going, knowing what Stiles was going to say from the look on his face. “Everyone has been through hell, but you need to look after yourself for once. Take this opportunity and use it - meet new people, learn new things, have fun.” Now it was the sheriff’s turn to take a deep breath. “And when the new year starts, if you want to come back, yes Stiles if, that’s fine. However,” he stated firmly, squeezing Stiles’ hands again, “if you want to stay in Central City, we can sort that out too.I know you have most if not all the credits you need to graduate already.” John smirked at Stiles’ surprise. “Yeah, no way you were hiding that from me kid.” Stiles grabbed the mug of coffee, taking a large sip before staring into the dark liquid, thinking carefully. Suddenly he huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“Fine, but don’t expect this ploy of yours to work.” The sheriff raised an eyebrow. “I know your true motive, you can’t distract me with feelings.” The other eyebrow lifted. “You just want to be able to eat what you want all the time - I have you all figured out.” John snorted.

“Yeah, you caught me. Can’t put anything by you, kid.” Stiles smirked as the sheriff took a sip of coffee before spitting it back out, shuddering. “Ugh, cold.” Taking back both mugs, he moved over to the sink to tip the drink away. “Right, I’ll make a couple of phone calls, but everything should be ready for you to start on Monday.” Stiles dropped his head on to the table and groaned, making his father laugh. “Don’t forget, I know you, kid.” Nodding, Stiles made a noise of agreement. “Now, you’ll be staying with an old friend of mine, David Singh and his boyfriend Rob, he’s the Captain so be on your best behaviour. I’ve also had the jeep looked over so it’s safe for you drive up there.” At this Stiles shot up in his seat, arms raised in excitement. He hadn’t been able to take the jeep to a garage himself since it was used as murder weapon while he watched. “David will explain all of the other details when you get there this weekend, that should give you time to talk to your friends and pack, ugh I meant pack your stuff.” Stiles grinned at his unintended werewolf reference. 

Stiles stood up and stretched, joints popping and clicking into place after sitting still for so long, and moved around the table and pulled his father into a hug. 

“Love you, Dad.” He said into the uniformed shoulder, the words muffled but the sentiment was clear as John returned the embrace, pressing a kiss into the unruly hair.. 

“Love you too, kid.” Stiles pulled away gently and headed to the stairs. 

“I’m going to get started on the packing and then I’ll go check on Scott. Get some sleep Dad, you had a busy shift. There will be food in the fridge when you get up.” The sheriff looked at him suspiciously.

“How do you know about my shift?” Stiles raised an eyebrow. “Right, police scanner.” John ran a hand over his head and yawned. “I’ll head up to bed in a minute.” Stiles nodded and started up the stairs, mind already running over lists of things he might need to take.

***

Stiles tossed the last bag into the back of the jeep, John coming up behind him with his pillow and a small black case. 

“What’s that, daddio?” Stiles looked at the case curiously. 

“Something I hope you’ll never need. Open it.” Inside the case was a broken down pistol and two rows of bullets, John cleared his throat. “David will be taking you to a target range and helping you get law enforcement exceptions to carry loaded.This row on the left is normal ammunition, but on the right are wolfsbane bullets.” Stiles looked at him in shock, “I went to see Chris before he and Isaac left. I want you to be prepared, son.” Stiles nodded, closing and locking the case before placing it gently in the glove compartment.

“Thanks Dad.” Opening up the back, he pulled out a jar and a baseball bat. “Not the only one thinking that way then - mountain ash, for both. The guy who made custom bats was quite confused.” John chuckled.

“Only you, kid.” Stiles smirked before putting the items back in the car safely. 

“Stiles!” A shout from up the road had both Stilinksis turning to see Scott running towards them from where he had parked his dirt bike. Stiles’ breath wooshed out all at once as Scott grabbed him into a big hug, lifting him off the ground completely. 

“Ugh, Scott, need...breathe.” Scott quickly let go and Stiles dropped to the floor. “Dude, what was that for?”

“I’m going to miss you Stiles.” 

“Hey, buddy, it’s just a summer, and there’s these things called phones and computers...Guh.” Stiles was pulled into a hug again, his dad joining in. “Hey, I really do need that thing known as air.” 

“Have a great time, Stiles.” Scott was fidgeting as if on the verge of hugging and never letting go.

“And be careful.” Stiles could see now his dad was also thinking along the same lines. 

“This was your idea, Dad, I’ll be fine.” Stiles reassured. “Now Scotty, don’t rush into things, make a plan or get Lydia, Deaton or my Dad to make one for you.” Stiles continued over Scott’s halfhearted indignation. “Dad, I’ve briefed Parrish and the other deputies completely on your diet and I will know if you cheat.”

“Stiles, there’s no need…” He stopped at the glare Stiles sent him. 

“I’ve also asked Melissa to keep an eye on you when she can, and there is food in both the fridge and freezer.” Stiles shifted, saw the time and just stopped himself from cursing. “I have to go or I’ll be late. Can’t keep the Captain waiting.” 

“Alright, let me know when you get there.” Stiles blinked, then smirked at the two in front of him. He had definitely heard that in stereo. 

“Sure, Dads.” Stiles climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door, crossing his fingers as he turned the ignition but the engine started with a purr. His dad had definitely come through on his jeep. He waved as he pulled out and started on his way out of Beacon Hills and towards Central City, his dad and Scott waving at him in the rearview mirror. 

***

Stiles was exhausted. He had driven non stop to Central City and was now trying to find his way to the address his Dad had scribbled down. Seeing a coffee shop and a convenient parking spot, Stiles pulled over, jumping out and locking up quickly before he dashed for the door, hoping they were still open or at least willing to give directions. 

Luckily, it hadn’t quite reached closing hours for CC Jitters and, even better one of the coffee machines was still in use.

“Oh thank god!” Stiles exclaimed, latching onto the counter dramatically and causing the barista to giggle. Stiles glanced at her name tag quickly, placed his hands together and put on his best pleading expression. “Save me Stacy, you’re my only hope.” More laughter from behind made him turn and see another waitress holding a tray of dirty dishes.  
“What can we help you with?” Stiles moved out of her way, noticing that her name tag said Iris as she went past. 

“Well, Iris and Stacy, can I get the biggest coffee you make and some assistance for one of the poor directionally challenged?” Stiles was pleased when they both laughed. 

“Sure. Stacy, you want to handle the coffee?” The blond nodded and moved to the machine to get started. “Let’s see if I can help you with those directions. Do you have the address?” Iris leaned on the counter as Stiles rifled through his pockets, giggling when he held the small piece of paper in the air triumphantly once it was successfully found. “Jeez, how can you even read this?” She was squinting at the writing, Stiles shrugged.

“Lifetime of practice - my dad wrote it down.” Iris nodded in understanding, so Stiles read the address out loud..

“Ah,” Iris said in recognition. “It’s not actually that far from here.” She pulled out her order pad and quickly jotted out a series of clearly written and simple directions. “It’s an area of large townhouses, so you shouldn’t have much trouble.” Ripping the sheet off the pad, she handed it over to Stiles and Stacey appeared next to her with a large takeaway mug. 

“Thank you so much, you are queens among women, and have definitely earned yourself a new regular customer.” Stiles inhaled the steam rising from the mug as he fished his wallet out of his pocket. 

Stiles waved with his free hand as he left, jogging over to his jeep to escape the cold air. As soon as he was sat safely inside he took a large sip of the still hot beverage and sagged back into his seat. Grabbing his trusty roll of duct tape he stuck the directions to the dash, and put his coffee into an improvised holder next him before pulling out. 

Fifteen minutes later he was pulling up next to a large blue townhouse, and had not even gotten halfway through his coffee. Leaving the drink where in the holder, he dashed up the path and knocked firmly on the door. He didn’t have to wait long before the door was pulled open.

“You must be Stiles,” The smiling man continued, not noticing Stiles flinch at the words. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you over the past few days. I’m Rob,” he held out a hand, which Stiles quickly shook. “Do you have much to bring in from the car?” Shaking his head, Stiles followed behind as Rob started towards the jeep. “Let’s get the main stuff, then come back for the rest after you’ve had a tour of the house.” 

Stiles moved to open the door, passing Rob a laptop bag and his pillow from the passenger seat, before grabbing his rucksack, as well as retrieving the gun case and still warm coffee. He flushed a little, when Rob eyed the large takeaway cup.

“I, uh, had to stop for directions.” Rob chuckled. 

As they turned to go back up to the house, Stiles stopped suddenly when he saw a man leaning in the doorway. He was watching Rob with a fond smile and as they neared the porch, he came forward to meet them. 

“Stiles, I’m David Singh, welcome to Central City.” He took the gun case carefully, before holding out his own hand for Stiles to shake. 

“Good to meet you, both of you.” Stiles said, tiredly. Even with the coffee, Stiles could feel himself lagging. 

“Let’s go inside and put this somewhere safe,” David gestured at the gun case. “Then we’ll get you settled in. Everything else can wait for tomorrow.” Stiles nodded, following him in, Rob closing the door behind them. 

***

Stiles woke up early the next day to the sun shining brightly through the attic room window, and he was surprised to realise that he had slept through the night. It had been a while since that had happened, probably because I was so tired, he thought. He stretched, arms rising up into the air, before heading downstairs, already hearing noises from the kitchen. 

He found David at the coffee machine, who had turned around, mug in hand, when he heard Stiles enter.

“Morning Stiles, how did you sleep?” He gestured with his mug and Stiles nodded, perching on a stool at the breakfast bar.

“Surprisingly well. It’s uh, been a while.” Stiles was surprised when David just nodded. Obviously seeing the look, David started to explain.

“Your Dad and I had a talk, and he hoped it would be easier on you if he explained a few things first.” David brought Stiles’ mug of coffee over but then backed away, leaning on the counter and giving Stiles some distance. “He mentioned that you were experiencing some symptoms of PTSD and that you had recently been severely ill, just so that we wouldn’t be too surprised in regards to some of the effects.” Stiles sighed, it was easier to not have to start the conversation himself, but he decided to make sure they were aware of the problems. 

“So, PTSD from the serial killers, kidnapping and bomb scares. With hypothermia complications brought on by the sleepwalking, and the scare of possible frontotemporal dementia. All resulting in night terrors, panic attacks, loss of appetite, and fatigue. I think that about covers it.” Stiles stared at David challengingly, but was met with compassion and understanding.

“We’ll help you get to how you want to be.” David stated firmly, “however you want to. Even if that means that you want us to ignore everything and let you deal on your own,” David smirked. “Not recommended, but whatever works for you.” Stiles sipped at his coffee, thinking about the offer. “Now would be a good time to get your stuff in,” Stiles looked up and tilted his head to the side in confusion, laughing at himself internally when he realised what he was doing - it was something he had picked up from the pack puppies. David nodded his head towards the ceiling. “As soon as Rob is up you’ll be dragged on that tour, luckily he is not a morning person.” Stiles snorted before standing, draining his mug on the way to the sink. “Just leave the door open until you’re done.” Stiles waved a hand in acknowledgement as he headed to the front door. 

Pulling his keys from the pocket of his hoodie, Stiles headed down the path to his jeep. He stopped and leaned his head against the driver’s side window. Everything suddenly seemed so final, that he was here to stay and it kinda knocked him for a loop. Concentrating on his breathing, he looked down at his hands and started counting his fingers, releasing a hiss of relief when he only reached ten. After another couple of deep breaths he went round the jeep and unlocked the back, carefully removing the jar of mountain ash and baseball bat and putting them to one side before slinging the holdall over his shoulder. Picking both werewolf repellants back up, he headed inside and up to his room for the summer.

It didn’t take long to move everything inside. As he had told Rob the night before, he hadn’t packed much, so he headed in to find David and to see about a shower before Rob finally woke up.

Clean and dressed, Stiles sat on the really comfortable sofa and stared at the texts on his phone. His dad and Scott had both replied to his safe arrival messages from the night before, he had received one from Lydia, and one surprisingly from Danny. 

The one from Lydia was as expected, for him to have fun but to be there for senior year as she needed at least one person to compete with for valedictorian. The same could be said about the messages from Scott and the sheriff. 

Danny’s was interesting. After congratulating him on the internship; though how he knew Stiles had no idea, he said he didn’t blame him for not mentioning the werewolf thing and that he hoped Stiles was doing okay after everything, that he was heading to an internship of his own although he couldn’t say where, and would be available to talk if Stiles needed someone who knew Beacon Hills crazy, but wasn’t there. 

Considering what had happened the last couple of years, Stiles was sure he’d be the last person Danny would ever want to talk to. 

Soon enough, Stiles heard Rob moving about upstairs and both men appeared not long after. The tour was quickly completed, with Stiles now wanting to sit out in the garden as much as possible, weather permitting. This is where they settled to discuss the details of the internship. David would take Stiles in the next morning and introduce him to everyone, although he would mainly be working with someone called Barry who was basically the whole crime lab. 

Luckily for Stiles, due to his circumstances, he was allowed to wear whatever he felt comfortable in, as he would only be working in the lab at the precinct. After hearing that, Stiles let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, causing both Rob and David to laugh. 

They spent the rest of the day relaxing. Stiles had quickly sorted out his room, and after some lunch decided to badger David for stories about previous cases, his own and the precincts. 

The most recent cases set off Stiles’ alarm for crazy, so he would definitely be keeping an eye out for suspicious supernatural activity. 

Turning in early, Stiles just hoped that tonight would be good one; he would need to be on top form tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by myownway.

Why am I always late? Barry thought to himself, even with his super speed no matter what for his normal day life - he was always late. Joe always thought it was highly amusing, they would share a secret smile on how the fastest man alive can be late and it would be okay. But then there were days where being late was definitely not okay. Like days like today, when you rush into your lab which still has papers thrown everywhere from where you had rushed off the night before to save people in a burning building and forgot to tidy up after you, and in the middle of that mess is your boss who never comes up to the lab. 

"Barry... You're late." Joe says and there's that secret sparkle behind his eyes and Barry just nods a little awkwardly. 

"I trust you have good reason for being late today, remember the other day you told me that your bus was delayed, the day before that your car had broken down..." 

Barry bit his lip and sighed to himself, he wasn't the best liar either. He lived in walking distance to work and oh yeah he didn't have a clue how to drive. "My alarm just didn't go off." Barry shrugged, and it was half true, it had gone off the first time but when he hit it to snooze he had hit it a little too hard and well he would have to get a new alarm at some point today. Barry didn't look at Joe who had rolled his eyes at his response instead he just looked around the lab trying to wonder why his boss would be in his lab, then he figured he found the answer when his eyes landed on a teenager standing a little awkwardly at one of his tables, his hand was holding a phial of yellow liquid - showing Barry he had been snooping before he had come in. 

"Be careful with that, it's ammonia a drop of that on your skin..."

"And it will burn straight through. Got it. No touching." The boy finished and put the phial down carefully. 

"Right." Barry nodded and looked at Joe who had a knowing smile on his face, and then back to his boss who was looking a little surprised but also a little smug, so he knew this kid then Barry thought. 

"Barry Allen meet Stiles Stilinski, his father is a personal friend and Stiles is here for a summer internship. Take him under your wing, show him around. Just try to keep him out of trouble." David Singh said and for the first time he thought he had heard a raw emotion in his voice, something had happened to Stiles back home? That's why he was here? Barry kept his thoughts to himself and looked over at Stiles who was now flicking through one of the folders on the desk, trying to hide himself from the conversation. 

"Hi," Barry smiled. Stiles looked up and waved a small smile on his lips. Looking at Stiles, Barry saw a confident teenage boy, he wore a red and black flannel shirt with black jeans and converses, his hair was almost as ridiculous as Barry's, Joe was forever telling him he was overdue for a haircut. 

"Use this morning to show him around, Allen, and for god sake tidy this damn lab." David shook his head and looked over at Stiles. "My office is downstairs if you need me." 

"Thanks." Stiles said rubbing his neck a little embarrassed, as David walked out of the office still mumbling about the mess Barry had created. 

"Joe can I have a quick word?" Barry sighed and walked to the corner of the room, Joe walked over too. 

"I know what you're going to say, but he just sprung it on me." Joe said quietly. 

"How can I keep an eye on him if I'm you know doing my other job?" Barry asked, he was used to working alone, it worked in his favour especially when he would have to run off to go to star labs or deal with meta humans. 

"You're going to have to be careful." Joe said, "I'll help."

"Okay." Barry nodded. It wasn't that he didn't want to not have Stiles around but what if he put him in danger? 

"Guys, you know if you didn't want me to hear you talking about me you should probably go to a different room." Stiles said walking towards them. "And I probably won't be here for the whole summer so you won't have to put up with me for too long." Stiles added before walking out of the lab. 

"Great." Barry groaned. He hadn't intended for Stiles to hear that, he just wanted to keep him safe. He looked up at Joe with confused eyes. 

"Go after him kid." Joe said, guilt washing over him as well. "I'll cover with Singh. Go and find him." Barry just nodded and headed back out, he just hoped Stiles hadn't gone to Singh about him. 

 

-x- 

Stiles wasn’t too hard to find and as Barry looked at him through the window of Jitters he felt like even more of an idiot. How could he have been so stupid to say those things in front of him? He wasn’t that kind of a guy. He opened the door and sighed as he saw Iris walk over to him, a mug of coffee in hand. She said something that made him laugh and Barry swallowed the jealousy that was rising inside of him. Iris would always be the one to make anyone smile, especially when they looked like they needed cheering up like Stiles did, but it didn’t make Barry feel any easier, he liked, loved being the one that Iris made laugh, but ever since her and Eddie got together that feeling of laughter was getting further and further away. 

“Hey Barry.” Iris beamed as Barry walked over to them. Stiles looked up at him slowly, Barry hated that he had been the cause of the defeated look on his face. “Coffee?”  
“No, I’m good. Thanks.” Barry answered trying to smile. Iris watched him for a few moments and then looked at Stiles who was concentrating on the coffee in front of him as though it was the most interesting thing in the world to him. “I just came to speak to Stiles.” 

“Well I’ll leave you two to it.” Iris said and gave Stiles a reassuring pat on the shoulder, it seemed to have an effect on the younger man as he smiled inwardly. Barry sighed and just sat opposite him. 

“I’m sorry.” Barry said quietly, he had never been the guy to apologise for something like this, not that he was always the good guy - there of course had been moments in his life that he wasn’t proud of, but this was a feeling he wasn’t used to. “I wasn’t thinking when I said those things to Joe.” 

“It’s fine.” Stiles shrugged, his fingers scratching at his hands almost painfully and Barry wanted to reach forward and pull them apart, to tell him to stop hurting himself. As though Stiles could tell what he was thinking he distracted himself by taking a sip of his coffee. 

“What you said before, about not being here for long, what did you mean?” Barry asked, he almost wished he had asked Iris for a cup of coffee, he could use a distraction himself. 

“I don’t know how long I’ll be staying here. My dad wants me here for at least the summer, but I’ve never been away from home, I have friends, a pa- I have family that need me.” Stiles said looking down. “I miss them.” It hit Barry then that Stiles was still young, he was homesick and in a new environment, and Barry had been cruel and insensitive. 

“I’m really messy and I’m used to working by myself...I am overworked and get a bit stressed sometimes. It would be nice to have someone around to help.” Barry said and the way Stiles looked up, a small smile on his lips Barry knew he had said the right thing. He wasn’t ignoring what Stiles had said, but he knew from experience constantly talking about issues didn’t fix them, just pressed them and made them hurt even more. “Six months ago I was...well I was in a coma and I’m still adjusting to getting back to reality, so sometimes I disappear or I act...different.” Barry said stumbling slightly over his words. 

“I can handle different.” Stiles said, smirking to himself. 

“Does that mean we’re cool?” Barry asked. 

“We’re cool dude.” Stiles nodded, and they both shared a relieved smile. 

-x-


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So people, we'll be alternating chapters between me (midnightphoenix13) and myownway, meaning odd numbers are me and even are myownway. You will probably be able to tell by point of view and writing style anyway. 
> 
> Keep up the comments and kudos, we love having our work appreciated and it gives me a very pointed nudge back towards the keyboard when I get distracted.

Stiles woke slightly less rested than the previous night, but it had been more to do with apprehension induced insomnia than nightmares. His mind was racing with the possibilities of what could happen on his first day, with his history anything was likely. 

Okay, he thought, first order of the day - get some adderall, or maybe clothes. No, a shower, definitely a shower. Then clothes, followed by adderall. Having a plan helped to pull him out of the warm bed. 

Dressed in comfortable dark clothes, he grabbed the bottle of medication and headed downstairs, long fingers running through damp hair as he went. Entering the kitchen, he headed straight to the coffee machine, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the table. 

“You and Barry will get along just fine.” Stiles raised a sceptical eyebrow at David finding that unlikely, but went with the judgement for now, David already worked with him after all. “I’ll introduce you quickly in the bullpen, before I take you up to the lab.” Nodding to show he was listening, Stiles continued to make himself a simple breakfast. “Should just be health & safety, lab procedure and equipment use, boring but necessary. I can get you some old case files to look over as well?” Stiles spun around at that, grabbing at his toast on the way and burning his fingertips slightly.

“Yes, please, that would help so much with the focusing on the rules bit.” Stiles’ brought out a mild version of Scott’s puppy eyes and David snorted.  
“Fine, but only because your Dad already mentioned the ADHD.” David sighed, while Stiles went back to his toast. “And don’t forget to take your pills.” Saluting, Stiles took the medicine out of his pocket, dry swallowing a pill, before downing the rest of his coffee. “Rob wants to have a nice dinner together tonight, first day reward or something. So don’t be making any sudden plans.” Rolling his eyes, as his mouth was full of toast, Stiles gestured towards the door and David sighed again. “Let’s get going.” 

***

Stiles was starting to get bored, there was only so much discreet people watching he could do when there were only three of them. They were waiting in the crime lab with one of the detectives, Joe West, for Barry Allen to show and who was already running late. The detective glanced at the whiteboard every so often, but Stiles could not see anything special about it. 

He crept a little closer to the desk and once no one said anything started to poke at the equipment. He had just picked up a phial of ammonia, wondering what it was to be used for, when a guy not that much older than him burst through the door. 

As the newcomer; Barry, Stiles noted, was instantly reprimanded by the Captain, he took a chance to look him over. Professional but casual clothes, worn with sneakers and hair that stood on end, much like his own did. He almost jumped when eyes fell on him, but when all he received was an admonishment about the ammonia, he had to interrupt.

"And it will burn straight through. Got it. No touching." He put down the phial, and hearing David start up the introductions, he flipped open the top folder of the files David had brought up for him, as a distraction. When he heard Barry greet him, he looked up with what he hoped was a smile on his face and waved. The captain soon had to leave, reminding Stiles that he could come and find him at anytime. 

“Thanks,” Stiles was able to force out the gratitude, feeling awkward and embarrassed he rubbed at the back of his neck. The uncomfortable feeling only grew as the other two excused themselves to a corner of the room. Having relatively good hearing, at least compared to werewolves, Stiles was able to hear everything, which left him feeling unwelcome in the lab and suspicious of them both. He walked over, deliberately interrupting them, before walking out. He did not want to deal with this right now. 

Standing out the front of the precinct, he looked around, surprised to find he recognised the area and headed to where he could remember the coffee shop from the other night to be.Stiles pushed through the door into the bustle of CC Jitters and saw a familiar face moving around the tables. His eyes darted to the counter, but a brunette was taking orders there instead. Heading towards an empty table, he must have caught Iris’ attention somehow. As soon as he had sat down, she appeared by his side.

“Hey there, did you find your way alright in the end?” Stiles smiled at being remembered and nodded. 

“Yes, thank you for the directions, they were really helpful. Um, I just realised I forgot to introduce myself before, so - hi, I’m Stiles.” He waved a hand in greeting, and Iris smiled, amused.

“So, Stiles, biggest coffee we have or will you try something less ambitious this time?” Iris asked, smirking when Stiles felt himself blush. 

“Ah, just a regular size thanks. I guess I have to go back at some point.” Iris must have noticed something in Stiles’ tone, as she sat down across from him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Stiles raised an eyebrow. “I know I only met you yesterday, but I’m a good judge of character.” She shrugged then stared at him, determined. “So speak, Mister.”

“I uh, just had a bad start to a first day, shouldn’t have run out probably.” At her inquiring look, he elaborated. “I have an internship at the crime lab, over in the local precinct.” Iris had a look of recognition, but didn’t interrupt. “Um, I think the whole thing was kinda forced on them, by the Captain, so I didn’t exactly feel, uh, welcome?” Stiles looked down at his fingers, but was startled into looking up when Iris snorted.

“So, you met Barry then?” Stiles’ mouth opened slightly, shocked, but he nodded. “Don’t worry about it, he’s been my best friend since forever, so trust me when I say he probably forgot or got caught up in something else and didn’t read the email or something.” She stood up, looking for a moment like she wanted to give him a hug but thought better of the gesture. “He’s a good guy, so he’ll probably come and find you. I’ll go get you that coffee.” She smiled and headed back towards the counter. Stiles looked after her thoughtfully, wondering slightly at the coincidence before snorting, there was no such thing anymore, not to him. 

Humming under his breath, he thought back to the little he had seen of the recent case files, deciding to do some research of his own that night. So lost in thought, he nearly didn’t notice Iris coming back over to him, as she placed the mug down in front of him he questioned the bill.  
“On the house, or at least, on Barry anyway.” Stiles laughed, amused at her audacity. “And there he is now...Hey Barry.” Stiles looked up and swore silently at the kicked puppy look on his face. ‘Not another one,’ he thought, as Iris asked Barry if he wanted coffee. As he declined, a poor attempt of a smile appeared, which had Iris glancing between them thoughtfully and Stiles looked down again, watching the steam rise from his drink. He startled when Iris patted his shoulder, flinching slightly, before smiling warmly at her look of concern as she moved away, not wanting her to worry. He watched carefully as Barry sat down in front of him. 

“I’m sorry.” That wasn’t what Stiles had expected, but Iris had said Barry was a good guy and it was something Scott probably would have done too, so he stayed silent. “I wasn’t thinking when I said those things to Joe.” 

“It’s fine.” And it was, Stiles thought, the whole thing had been minor and something that wouldn’t have bothered him at all, before. His hands started to fidget so he grabbed the coffee, taking a sip. 

“What you said before, about not being here for long, what did you mean?” Stiles thought back and realised he had said that, it had just slipped out. He considered it for a few seconds and realised what it meant. 

“I don’t know how long I’ll be staying here. My dad wants me here for at least the summer, but I’ve never been away from home, I have friends, a pa- I have family that need me.” Stiles looked down, he had almost slipped again, but what he had said was a half-truth, an explanation but not the whole. What would happen to everyone while he was gone? What if there was something worse, or something he could prevent, what if someone else got hurt or died because he wasn’t there. He couldn’t say that though so he said something else. ”I miss them.” It was true, but it didn’t quite match up to the huge mess of emotion inside of him. Stiles looked up at Barry, slightly confused when words just started spilling out.

“I’m really messy and I’m used to working by myself… I am overworked and get a bit stressed sometimes. It would be nice to have someone around to help.” Stiles smiled as Barry neatly diverted the conversation with babble. “Six months ago I was… well, I was in a coma and I’m still adjusting to getting back to reality, so sometimes I disappear or act… different.” 

“I can handle different.” Stiles smirked, while taking a mental note to put Barry Allen at the top of his research list. He knew that it would be slightly wrong, but he didn’t want not knowing to bite him the ass later. 

“Does that mean we’re cool?” Barry had perked up, obviously hoping for a positive answer.

“We’re cool dude.” Nodding, Stiles smiled in reaction to Barry’s relief, before moving the conversation on. He might as well learn as much as he could before they head back to the lab, and Barry had a tab to settle.


	4. Chapter 4

It was refreshing talking to someone new, Barry thought as he finished showing Stiles around his lab. Stiles was smart and witty and he put up with his science babble - Joe had given it that nickname - but Stiles had spoke about it with just as much passion and Barry thought he would really get on with the guys at Star labs, but Barry wasn't ready to introduce him to them yet, he didn't want to put Stiles in any danger by knowing his secret.

"So that's pretty much it," Barry smiled. "I'm hungry, you want to come and try the best sushi you'll ever taste?"

"I would love that." Stiles smiled. "But David and Rob wanted me to head straight back, something about my first day on the job and celebrating."

"That's awesome." Barry nodded with a smile. "They're great guys. If I you know you're not late all of the time and are tidy and proper..."

"He's not that bad. He's known my dad forever. So I guess he'll have to put up with my messy antics and my ability to be late for anything." Stiles bantered back.

"Guess you're the lucky one." Barry smiled and they walked out together.

Barry said goodbye to Stiles downstairs and headed to get something to eat, before he had been struck by lightning, before all normality left him he would never eat alone. He would always have been with Iris, almost unnaturally attached at the hip, but now she had Eddie he was slowly getting used to his own company.

Finishing his sushi, he decided to go and check in Star labs, he normally found the time to go during the day but he had been busy with Stiles. Speeding his way in he smiled when he saw his three new friends, though they were definitely more than that - three new members of his family, talking.

"Hey," Cisco smiled up at him. "Where have you been today?"

"Hey, new intern at the lab, I was just showing him around. There wasn't any emergencies were there?"

"No." Harrison Wells smiled but that was an uncertainty in his voice.

"What?" Barry asked looking over at him a little worried.

"When it's quiet I always think that it's leading up to something..." Wells shrugged.

"And it's me who gets told that I watch too much science fiction. Maybe a quiet day just means that..." Cisco said hopefully.

"Let's hope you're right Mr Ramon." Wells said fondly.

"So what's the guy like?" Caitlin asked as Barry jumped up onto the side, his legs idly kicking.

"He's okay. From Beacon Hills. I haven't even heard of it..."

"Beacon Hills?" Cisco grinned, his voice full of excitement once again.

"Yeah..."

"Beacon Hills is like the magnet for all things supernatural..."

"Supernatural?" Caitlin said shaking her head.

"Demon attacks, witches... Werewolves! I have to meet him!"

"No, actually I was kind of hoping to, you know, keep work separate in this case." Barry said softly. "I think he's been through a lot already and I don't want my secret putting him in danger..."

"Been through a lot like been bitten?" Cisco finished.

"Cisco, werewolves are just a story, a myth..." Caitlin sighed. "Now it's you who watches too much science fiction."

"I'm with Caitlin on this one." Barry laughed, sometimes Cisco's imagination got the better of him.

"As am I. Central City has enough to deal with right now, let's not add werewolves to the mix." Harrison smiled. “Now, If you excuse me, it is late and I am going to head home for once.”

“Okay,” Barry smiled. “See you tomorrow.” The three of them watched as Wells wheeled away and Barry sighed turning to Caitlin. “Are you heading home too?”

“I have a few more tests to run on a strange particle we found in the basement.” Caitlin said. “I wanted to do it when Wells left because I know he still blames himself. I just thought maybe if I did some tests, maybe it can reverse some of the meta-humans.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Barry smiled. “Want some help?”

“It’s late, don’t you have any exciting plans?” Caitlin asked but was smiling. It meant a lot to her that Barry would want to help. Caitlin knew how much of a nice man Barry was, he was always wanting to help, he believed that it was him becoming The Flash that had made him like that, but Caitlin was sure that no matter what powers he had, he would always be the person to offer help when needed.

“Me? Exciting plans. Ha.” Barry grinned and jumped down and sat beside Caitlin who smiled back.

“No luck with Iris still, man?” Cisco asked, perching beside them, his soda in his hand. It amazed Barry just how much caffeine the younger man consumed.

“She’s with Eddie.” Barry sighed.

“And she’s happy. So...I don’t think the Flash should be paying her any more visits…” Caitlin said and Barry and Cisco both rolled their eyes.

“Come on, let’s just do these tests.” Barry said, he did not want to be talking about his personal life, or more importantly lack of a personal life.

-x-

When Barry woke up the next morning he was a little relieved to see that he wasn’t late for once, which was surprising because he had been at Star Labs till the early hours of the morning running tests with Caitlin but also just hanging out. Something that they had been doing more and more. He was really starting to believe that they liked him for himself, and not just because he was The Flash. It felt good to have friends that weren’t Iris. Though he still missed spending time with her.

Walking to work, he stopped off at Jitters and ordered two coffees, one for him and one for Stiles. He also decided to grab a breakfast muffin for the both of them too, he could treat the new kid once in awhile, he decided. Walking into work he was glad that he had brought Stiles something, the younger boy was perched on the work bench, his elbow resting on the table to act as leverage holding his face up, his eyes were dark and had rings under them, his skin pale and he just looked drained.

“Hey…” Barry said lightly and Stiles jumped dropping the file that was under his arm on the floor, it had taken a lot for Barry not to rush over and pick it up before it touched the floor. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

“It’s...It’s okay.” Stiles sighed and bent down and started to gather the sheets up. Barry headed over, putting their coffee and breakfast on the table.

“I got you coffee and breakfast.” Barry said lightly.

“Thanks. I could do with the coffee.” Stiles said smiling weakly in his direction. Barry just nodded and gave Stiles’ shoulder a gentle pat, if Stiles wanted to talk about why he was tired and jumpy this morning he would listen, but he wouldn’t push the younger boy into anything.


	5. Chapter 5

The celebratory dinner consisted of takeout, something that Rob was trying to ban from the household altogether, and amusing anecdotes David had of John before he was Sheriff, but Stiles couldn’t concentrate. Something from that day was niggling at him. He didn’t know if it was something he’d seen or heard, but his mind was bouncing all over trying to piece together all the clues. 

After helping to clean up; Rob was adamant about using proper tableware even with fast food, Stiles hurried to his room, booted up his laptop and paced while he waited impatiently for it to load. He thought about starting up a new investigation on the wall, but didn’t think David or Rob would take it that well. 

Finally, he was able to dive into research using his trusted Google Fu and what he found in the recent history of Central City was disturbing. Not quite Beacon Hills level, but there was a trend of freakish incidents all occurring since the particle accelerator explosion over nine months ago. Although there had been some outliers further into the past, supernatural incidents had multiplied exponentially after a strange storm formed over the city, which Stiles was sure had been caused by the explosion itself. 

Worryingly, one of those incidents was Barry’s coma and Stiles no longer believed in coincidences. Getting struck by lightning did not a happy healthy forensic scientist make. Unnatural lightning on the other hand, well Stiles would keep his eyes open and suspicions high, no matter how much he liked Barry Allen. 

Closing his laptop, mind full of clues and crazy, he stripped down to his boxers and pulled on an old t-shirt. Yawning, he switched the lights off before curling up in bed with the covers wrapped tightly. It took a while of staring blankly up at the ceiling before he drifted off. 

***

He was driving along the empty back road, as the storm raged above. Stiles couldn’t tell if the howls he could hear were wolves or just wind, but he didn’t dare stop or even slow down. Lightning impacted the tarmac around him, forcing him to swerve to the side. He never saw the tree.

He lifted his head from the desk, his face sticking slightly to the textbook pages,and blinked. Jennifer Blake was standing at the front of the classroom staring at him. He shifted nervously and looked around, seeing that everyone else was looking in his direction too, or at least it felt like they were. He couldn’t exactly tell as every face was hidden behind an Oni mask. 

“It’s your move, Stiles.” A voice said from behind him, it was familiar, but before he could turn around the masks were removed one by one, revealing the faces of the dead; every single one since the night Scott was bitten. Lydia’s scream echoed in his ears as he bolted from the room, accusing but unseeing eyes staring after him in his effort to escape. 

Running through the eerily silent school, the hallways seemed to stretch endlessly in front of him. All could now hear were his own ragged breaths. Stopping suddenly, he spun around and into the nearest open doorway, straight into Derek’s loft. 

Peter Hale looked up from where he sat behind a chessboard, a claw resting lightly on one of the black pieces. Nearby, Deucalion and Gerard Argent were focusing intently on the goban between them, the game in it’s final stages, although neither seemed to be winning. Stiles’ attention was brought back to Peter when he gestured for him sit opposite.

“It’s your move, Stiles.” Letting out a strangled shout when Peter’s eyes glowed red, Stiles backpedaled away from the three intense stares now fixed upon him and slammed the door closed as he went. He rested his head briefly on the cool metal trying to catch his breath, before he turned around and stumbled straight into the clearing containing the Nemeton.

Moving forward hesitantly, Stiles thought back to the last time he had been in proximity of the magical nexus. The ground around the large stump had been collapsing into the root cellar beneath, where Jennifer had imprisoned their parents and almost buried them alive, along with Allison and Isaac, if Stiles hadn’t arrived in time.

The tree in front of him now though, was whole and magnificent. He took another step and a warm breeze brushed past him, as if to reassure him, the leaves above rustling musically. He laughed, the sound slightly hysterical and catching him off guard, but it relieved a bit of the weight from his shoulders. 

Closing his eyes, Stiles placed a hand completely onto the trunk, the rough bark cutting into his palm but he didn’t flinch away. A warm tingling sensation had started moving up his arm from the point of contact and a voice whispered to him.

“Energy has to go somewhere, Stiles.”

Stiles startled awake, dawn light filtering in through the guest room curtains. Recognition flooded him before he flopped back onto the pillow and lifted his hands up to his face, they were still tingling. He couldn’t see any difference to start with, no logical reason for the sensation he could still feel. He turned them over to see the palms, inhaling sharply when he saw his left was covered in streaks of red. The same hand he had pressed to the Nemeton. Grabbing a tissue, he wiped off the blood but there were no visible wounds beneath.

Confused, anxious and not at all rested; he felt like he had been running all night, Stiles started to get ready for work. He wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep now at any rate, and if even if he could he just didn’t have the time before his alarm would have gone off anyway.

He made a mental note to call Deaton when it reached a reasonable hour, hoping the man would have answers; cryptic or otherwise, and actually be inclined to share them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For information purposes, a goban is the name for the board used in Go.


	6. Chapter 6

Barry liked Stiles, yes at first he had been wary about having a new person around - someone who didn’t know his secret, but it was actually refreshing. Stiles was hard working and funny and made the mundane tasks quite exciting, especially where Barry couldn’t do things to his usual speed around him. Barry could tell that Stiles was going through something, he seemed a little tired but Barry didn’t question it, he knew when Stiles was ready he would open up and talk about it. 

“So, what’s it like staying with the boss?” Barry asked as he swung on his chair, all of the tests for their latest case were being analysed and there was nothing for them to do but wait. He wasn’t too sure what he used to do when he was waiting for results. That felt like a lifetime ago, now he would do all of his tests at Star labs and spend his free time speeding around Central City doing what he could to help. But obviously with Stiles around that wasn’t going to be a possibility, not for now anyway. 

“So far so good.” Stiles smiled. “I don’t tend to see him much here, so it doesn’t really feel like I’m staying with my boss, just a family friend who I know will be reporting every little thing I do back to my dad…”

“So, awesome?” Barry grinned and he was pleased when Stiles chuckled in return. He liked making him laugh, it seemed like Stiles didn’t laugh very often, something Barry would make sure to change. 

“Yes, awesome.” Stiles laughed and finished writing some of the results down. Barry smiled and watched him for a few moments, there was something definitely captivating about Stiles, he was drawn to him and he really didn’t know why, but honestly, he didn’t really care. Barry went back to his work too, filling in some reports and looking through some old cases, it felt almost normal again. That was until his phone started to ring and he looked down and saw that it was Star Labs calling. 

“Hey…” Barry answered.

“We have a robbery Barry…” Caitlin said straight away, he could hear her furiously typing away and knew she was tracking everything that was happening.

“I’ll be right there.” Barry said straight away, if people needed him then he would be there to help. He hung up quickly and looked over at Stiles who was watching him closely, a look of concern sketched on his face.

“Is everything okay?” Stiles asked, stopping what he was doing and looking up at Barry.

“One of my friends just needs some help with something. I’ll be back soon…”

“I’ll cover for you.” Stiles said with a shrug of his shoulders. Barry nodded gratefully. 

“Thanks.” He said before heading out, as soon as he was out of the lab he pushed his body to full speed and activated the coms so Caitlin could direct him to the bank and give him all of the information he needed. 

 

The scene at the bank was complete chaos, with armed robbers holding hostages in front of them as another two masked men emptied the tills and safes. Barry took a second to look at his surroundings, his first priority was to get the people out to safety, he didn't want anyone to get hurt or worse. 

“I'm going in. Make sure the CCPD hold their fire!” Barry said pressing his finger to his coms, then he sped forward and watched as the scene in front of him moved in slow motion. He pulled the hostages away and put them outside by the police, not staying to hear their confusion and he rushed back in. The robbers had their guns aimed at the blur as Barry rushed past them and the guns went off all around but Barry easily dodged them and disarmed them as he pushed them to the ground in the middle of the room, just as the CCPD rushed in. 

Barry stared at his work and then looked up at the police who were looking a little more than confused at the situation, he nodded towards them before speeding off to Star Labs. He wasn’t quite sure what the CCPD thought of him, from Joe he knew that some of the officers were glad to have a little assistance especially when it came to the metahumans that they didn’t really know how to deal with, but others weren’t so keen on the idea of having a ‘freak’ out there pretending to be a hero. Barry didn’t care what anyone thought of him, he was given these abilities for a reason, to help people, he had to believe that. 

“Another bank job interrupted. Put it here my man!” Cisco beamed and held his fist up as Barry stopped in front of him. Grinning, Barry returned the fist bump as he pulled his hood off. 

“You shouldn’t have gone in there knowing they had guns…” Caitlin said quietly, she always worried about him in the field. She was scared, no, terrified that something bad was going to happen to him.

“I’m fine.” Barry promised with a smile. “No one got hurt.” 

“This time.” Caitlin sighed. 

“It’s fine.” Barry said shaking his head. “You’re the one who called…” 

“I know. But...I know you want to help people Barry… I just wish you wouldn’t run into danger like that.” 

“I’m not...I can handle it.” Barry said shaking his head more in disbelief. He couldn’t believe how Caitlin was being, why couldn’t she be like Cisco? He was happy for him, they had done a good thing together! “I better go back to work…” 

“Barry wait…” Caitlin called but Barry had already sped off. “Great.” Caitlin sighed knowing she would need to make it up to her friend. 

 

Angry, Barry walked back into the lab, Caitlin’s words still running through his mind. Maybe she was right, he should be more careful, but he had to help those people. The robbers had guns and they wouldn’t have hesitated to use them if Barry hadn’t stepped in. They said they were going to help people and this is what they were doing, Caitlin was a part of it. She didn’t get to judge him for it. 

“Everything okay?” Barry jumped. He had almost forgotten about Stiles. Stiles who had a case open on the floor with papers everywhere, and a twizzler between his lips. Barry couldn’t help but smile at the sight. The hyperactive boy only seemed calm when he was looking at a case. It was weird seeing him so still, he was used to him moving around constantly. 

“Yeah.” Barry sighed and sat down opposite him. “What are you looking at?” 

“Joe just dropped these off,” Stiles said. “I asked him if I could take a look and he told me to knock myself out, so…” 

“What’s the case?” Barry asked. 

“A series of missing people, the CCPD have two on record, but I looked into old records and there are actually five, well at least, I’m sure if we looked back more we could find it… anyway, at all of the scenes there was a plasma of sorts, different chemicals mixed together, not that many and from what the notes have said it looks like it dissolves pretty quickly. One CSI said it looked like a bleach so they didn’t really count it as anything, but a similar substance is at all the sites. So I looked into the substance and all of the components that make it up were at Korb Labs.” 

“You think it’s someone from there?” Barry asked, he was very impressed right now with Stiles’ abilities to piece together cases as quickly as he had. 

“Well that would be impossible because the department that worked with these chemicals was destroyed when the Star Labs particle accelerator exploded…” Stiles sighed.

Barry gulped. Stiles was working on a case that was probably down to a metahuman. This would definitely be getting a little too close for comfort. Barry wanted to tell Stiles to stop, that this case wasn’t worth looking at, but seeing Stiles looking so much in his element and not stressed or anxious like he looked this morning, he couldn’t. Hoping he wouldn’t regret this, Barry took a few pages from the pile and looked at the younger boy. “Let’s see if we can find out if anyone else had access…” The grin Stiles gave him in return was definitely worth the risk.


End file.
